A Washington, D.C., restaurant has been granted more time to prepare for an administrative hearing over the suspension of the bar’s liquor license after the owner requested more time to prepare and hire a lawyer.
In a letter sent to the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Commission, Eric Flannery, owner of The Big Board, sought a six-week delay, citing a lack of access to a working computer and the need to retain counsel. The restaurant’s initial hearing was scheduled for Friday.
The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board granted the request but denied waiting six weeks. Instead, the board granted a one-week continuance and rescheduled the hearing for Feb. 10 at 10 a.m., according to the court order.
“If you decide that we must hold a virtual meeting, I request that you provide me with a computer to attend this meeting as I stepped on my laptop and it’s broken,” Flannery wrote in a handwritten letter to the board, according to the Washington Post. “In the event that the hearing is done virtually, I request … that someone please train me on the software and systems that will be used as I don’t use any virtual communication system regularly, and have not for many years.”
Flannery requested the hearing in the first place to appeal the suspension of the bar’s liquor license, which was issued last week. The Big Board has garnered national attention for its noncompliance with the district’s mask and vaccine mandates, which ultimately led to the D.C. Division of Food closing the restaurant for food code violations.
DC RESTAURANT THAT DEFIED COVID-19 MANDATES FORCED TO CLOSE
The restaurant owner has appeared on a number of conservative talk shows over the last week, telling hosts he stands by his decision.
“What we will get right now is a meeting with the D.C. ABRA board of directors,” Flannery told O’Connor & Company on Thursday. “I want to go with that meeting and try and convince them that we should be open because we’re doing absolutely nothing wrong.”
Sen. Rand Paul and several other Republican members of Congress showed up at the restaurant to support the establishment just hours after it was given a shutdown notice Tuesday.
The pub is the first establishment in Washington, D.C., to lose its liquor license or receive punishment for violating Mayor Muriel Bowser’s vaccine mandate that went into effect Jan. 15.
Within the first week of Bowser’s vaccine mandate going into effect, the bar racked up a number of verbal and written warnings, as well as hefty fines, for not requiring patrons to show proof of vaccination before entering.
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The restaurant signaled that it was aware of the impending action before receiving the notice and remained adamant that it would not comply with the mandates despite the punishments.
“I’m not a government agent, and quite frankly, it’s not my job to check your personal medical history for you to come in. I trust you. I believe in you, just how I have all of these years,” Flannery told O’Connor & Company. “I’m not a medical doctor. I don’t have any opinions on the vaccine. You should talk with your medical doctor and make an informed decision on your own and decide that.”
